Politics & Government

Durham Bus Contract Extended

The Johnston School Committee voted on July 25 to approve the fifth-year option included in the original contract with Durham School Services.

Durham School Services will remain the 's bus company for another year, following a July 25 school committee meeting at Ferri Middle School.

Supt. Dr. Bernard DiLullo, during an interview on July 27, confirmed that the school board decided to exercise the fifth-year option that was included in the original contract with Durham.

"We wanted to ensure a smooth opening day," DiLullo said, which is scheduled for August 31.

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According to DiLullo, Durham will provide busing for the town's 3,100 school children at a cost of just over $2 million — about $37,000 more than a proposal by First Student.

DiLullo said that committee members decided against First Student over concerns that its buses would not have global positioning systems, or GPS, available from the first day of school.

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"It was the GPS issue [and] not knowing what types of buses we were going to get in the interim while [First Student] ordered new buses" equipped with the tracking devices, DiLullo explained.

The final decision on the contract followed several delays at previous school committee meetings, including one set for July 21, and what DiLullo termed "a late start" in issuing requests for proposals, or RFPs, for busing services.

"We plan to put the RFP out earlier next year," DiLullo said.


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